The Opening Ceremony of the 2015 World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Games in Ecuador is less than 3 weeks away. More than two and a half years of planning culminates with more than 650 athletes from 35 nations competing in 9 sports.

World Intellectual Impairment Sport would like to express its deepest gratitude to all athletes and teams for supporting this event, and wish you every success in competition.

However, nations will also be aware that in recent days, the Cotopaxi Volcano – located around 30 miles from Quito – began to show signs of an eruption. Ash and gasses were sent up in to the air and these reached areas of the city. The Ecuadorian Government has declared a state of emergency and the region is preparing for a full eruption. (Daily updates regarding the volcano are available in Spanish and English at: https://www.seguridad.gob.ec/category/comunicamos/noticias/)

Since the volcano became active, World Intellectual Impairment Sport has been liaising with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and taking advice from the Ecuadorian Government, Institute of Geophysics and the various embassies to assess the impact on the event.

Whilst no-one can give a definitive assessment of what will happen, activity at the volcano has been increasing and is now continuous. There is an expectation that the volcano will erupt in the days, weeks or months ahead and were this to happen, the impact on the area will be significant. Masks would need to be worn, air and road travel will be disrupted, and major venues – including those being used to host the Global Games – would be required by the authorities to house the many people who must be relocated.

Whilst World Intellectual Impairment Sport wishes to do everything possible to ensure the Games are successful, the safety and health of athletes, team staff, officials and supporters is paramount.

At greatest risk, due to their close proximity to the volcano, are the venues for athletics and table tennis which are due to be held in Latacunga – a town situation in the foothills of the volcano. However the LOC has advised that there will also be widespread disruption (including risk to health) from airborne ashes and gasses across Quito – and that safety cannot be assured.

The World Intellectual Impairment Sport Governing Board have therefore concluded that it is left with no choice but to authorise the LOC to relocate events to venues away from Quito and outside the area of influence and danger of the volcano.

Consequently, the LOC have today confirmed that athletics will now take place in Guaranda, swimming and basketball will take place in Guayaquil and table tennis will take place in Cuenca.

The venue of other sports will be confirmed within the next few days and are expected to be in the Guayaquil/Cuenca area. At this time we expect all sports to take place as planned and venues for athletics and swimming have been chosen which are IAAF/FINA certified respectively in order that IPC classification/sanction is preserved.

These changes do of course impact upon team planning. Most significantly, the LOC request that flights should be re-arranged to arrive directly into Guayaquil airport. Please contact your airline to discuss this change immediately. You should also plan for teams to be separated across 3 venue areas.

Where it is not possible to re-arrange flights, please contact the LOC at global.games@inas.org for advice or to make alternative arrangements for onward travel from Quito airport.

Arrival/Departure and ceremony dates all remain the same, accommodation options are being secured and you will be accommodated in a standard of hotel as similar as possible to that which was requested in Quito, and transport between the various venues is also being organised.

This has been a very unique and difficult situation that has changed daily. We realise the significant inconvenience and disruption that these changes might cause for your team, however you will appreciate and agree that the health and safety of delegations should be our foremost concern.

We will of course keep teams up to date with further information at the earliest opportunity however if you are concerned or have questions, then please contact the organisers (global.games@inas.org) or World Intellectual Impairment Sport (enquiries@inas.org) and we will try to assist as quickly as possible.

Finally, it is also critical that your final team entry details/payments are submitted to the LOC as soon as possible. Accommodation cannot be secured if payment has not been received, and competitions/classification schedules cannot be completed without full athlete information.

We very much look forward to welcoming you to Ecuador in a few short weeks. Please can we ask for your patience and understanding in the days ahead as the LOC make their final preparations, and we thankyou for your help to make the 2015 Global Games a huge success.

20th of August marks one month to go until the opening ceremony of the 2015 Ecuador World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Games – the world’s largest elite sporting event for athletes with an intellectual disability.

Registration for the Games closed on the 31st of July with 35 countries confirming their participation in this pinnacle event of the World Intellectual Impairment Sport calendar.

These include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Japan, Macau, Mauritius, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, USA and Venezuela.

The event features top-level competition in nine sports (athletics, basketball, cycling, futsal, swimming, rowing, table tennis, tennis and taekwondo) and will take place from the 20th to the 27th of September in Quito, Ecuador. Around 700 athletes are expected to compete.

The opening ceremony will take place on Sunday 20th of September and aims to get people from all ages to get involved and make of this gathering a sport celebration that will be held for the first time in a South American country.

Hartmut Freund (Germany) is one of the athletes who has qualified for the Games. He is Germany’s sole participant to the event, and is national Table Tennis champion in the Class 11 (intellectual disability). “Table tennis is his life and the Global Games is a great adventure for him” says guardian and coach Norbert Freund. “Due to no financial support he is largely dependent on sponsors, family and his idol – German table tennis star Dimitrij Ovtcharov – who has kindly supported his international competitions”.

Planning for the Games has been hampered in recent days by activity at the Cotopaxi Volcano – located around 35 miles to the south of Quito – and whilst World Intellectual Impairment Sport has confirmed that it expects the event to go ahead as planned, an announcement will be made in the coming days regarding athletics and table table which were due to be held in the town of Latacunga, located close to the volcano.

World Intellectual Impairment Sport President, Amaury Russo, is looking ahead to the Games. “Despite the complications of the past few days, I believe we can look forward to an exceptional event in Quito next month, and it will be an exciting preview to some of those athletes seeing qualification to the Rio Paralympics just a year from now.

To mark the 1st Global ID Sport Day, World Intellectual Impairment Sport is proud to announce a partnership with WGT Sport as their preferred travel supplier.

As an international charity running more than 15 Championship competitions across the globe every year, World Intellectual Impairment Sport depends on reliable and efficient travel planning.

As a specialist partner of British Airways and with good contacts with other hotels and airlines, WGT Sport are able to source the most cost-effective travel options for World Intellectual Impairment Sport, our member organisations and athletes. They ensure that every trip is well-planned, meets our requirements and, should anything unexpected happen, are on hand to find a solution.

World Intellectual Impairment Sport and WGT Sport Ltd have worked together over the past year and we are delighted to formalise this partnership as preferred supplier for travel management. In addition, for every booking WGT Sport will make a donation to World Intellectual Impairment Sport.

Phillip Betts, Managing Director of WGT Sports said “I am very pleased that WGT Sport Ltd has become a preferred supplier of travel management for World Intellectual Impairment Sport. We are delighted to support athletes with an intellectual disability through our excellent service, as well as make a financial contribution to support their work”.

To make a booking with WGT Sport Ltd contact them quoting World Intellectual Impairment Sport02 on +44 845 50 50 175 or by email to info@wgtsport.com or visit their website www.wgtsport.org.

World Intellectual Impairment Sport – the International Federation for sport for para-athletes with an intellectual disability – has selected Brisbane, Australia to host the 5th World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Games in 2019.

The Games – a week long championship featuring nine sports – will attract more than 1000 of the world’s elite athletes with an intellectual disability. The opening ceremony will take place on 19th October 2019.

AUSRAPID is the World Intellectual Impairment Sport member organisation responsible for the delivery of the Games.  Chief Executive, Robyn Smith was delighted to win the bid process “The Brisbane Global Games 2019 vision is to deliver a uniquely memorable and exciting celebration of sport and culture which focuses on ability. The event will create an atmosphere that inspires achievement, harmony and a sense of unity consistent with the Games vision.”

Amaury Russo, World Intellectual Impairment Sport President said of the bid “Brisbane Global Games 2019 aligns totally with the World Intellectual Impairment Sport Global Vision that athletes with an intellectual disability across the World have the opportunity to achieve excellence in sport and high-level competition.  The package planned by the local organising committee provides a great opportunity to create a long-term legacy by delivering an event that will have a positive social impact and reinforce the benefits of inclusive sport”

Greg Dunk, General Manager- Strategy and Corporate Affairs Life Stream Australia and member of the Games Bid Team stated “Brisbane is a beautiful city and boasts some of the best sporting facilities in the world, all within close proximity to the competition and training venues.  The Games will be a life-changing event for all athletes, officials, volunteers and spectators, and for communities across the Brisbane Region, Queensland and Australia.  It will bring people together in a secure, fun and friendly environment for a whole-of-Games experience and deliver a world-class sporting competition.”

Taking place just a year ahead of the Paralympic Games in 2020, it will be a fantastic opportunity for athletes aiming for qualification in Tokyo.

World Intellectual Impairment Sport will work closely with the local organising committee to ensure a transfer of knowledge and experience from the 2015 Global Games in Ecuador later this year.  It will be the first time as a region Oceania have hosted the Games and provides a real opportunity for engagement within the region to develop sport for athletes with an intellectual disability.

AUSRAPID works in partnership with many national and international sporting bodies and key peak agencies on a day to day basis to facilitate inclusiveness in sport for people with an intellectual disability.  This partnership approach has been presented as part of Brisbane Global Games 2019 integrating a sports development program to promote the long-term viability of the Global Games sports including $50,000 AUD to fund sports development initiatives and programs in the Oceania Region.

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